Spirit Itinerary in 2009

[twinkle toes]

I am wanting to finalize my reservations for a cruise in March 2009, but would feel better if I had some feedback from people that have been to the ports that are on the agenda. I am not concerned with the ship, since it is going to be in drydock this fall, so it will be in good condiition. The ports that the ship is scheduled to visit are Santo Tomas de Castilla, Belize City, Costa Maya and Cozumel. We are not scuba divers, I am the only one that would snorkel, and even that would be minimal. We all enjoy the beach, but would not be upset if we didn't really step foot on them. We are more interested in being somewhere that is totally different than the environment we live in daily. When I read descriptions about these ports, some of the review state (or boast) that they can handle up to 16 ships each day. That sounds more like a zoo than a vacation getaway. Can anyone tell me whether they felt that these ports were really conjested, or did you feel like it was pretty spacious.

[Toyz711]

last year, dec '07, on the spirit...the ship did roatan, to replace costa maya. this fall will be costa maya's reopening after a hurricane destroyed it. the people of costa maya have worked very hard to rebuild the port, still working to get it ready for this november.

santo tomas, we were the only ship in port...it's a working frieght port, not a tourist port. not sure how to describe it...except to say to get out of town, away from the docks...to see the real part of the country. around the docks, it's very poor, very much a 3rd world county...out of the docks, into the countryside..it's interesting. do not expect beaches and such...check out the port of call boards for ideas of tours:

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/forumdisplay.php?f=5

belize is a tender port, every ship stays out to sea, about 20 mins from shore. you do see a few other ships, i think there were 5 or 6 there the day we went. we were one of the last to tender in, never saw crowds...but most people get out, away from the dock area,do excursions. you tender into a secure area, with restaurants/shops...but, as with santo tomas, you don't want to hang around outside the docks. belize has some great mayan ruinse (we did lamanai), it's a great area for adventures, like cave tubing and zip lining. there are beaches, but you have to take a boat to one of the cayes.

cozumel, we have 2 ships docked at our dock...i think there were 2 to 3 others docks down at the international dock and one small ship was tendered. the city is big enough to handle it...there are so many beach resorts, you don't notice the crowds. if there was a crowd, by the time i got off the ship,they were off to their own adventure/beach.

cozumel had the most ships...but the most room to handle them.

we are hoping to do the same cruise this year...loved the spirit, loved that fact that this is not a beach/party type of cruise. it's very much a adventure/see other countries cruise.

my review of the cruise is linked below in my signature, photos other ports and ship are in my webshot link.

[twinkle toes]

Thanks so much for the reply. You described it exactly as I was hoping someone would. We are planning on going on the March 22 sailing (the only time our two daughters are out of school at the same time). We are really hoping that the "spring break party crowd" gravitate to the other types of ships. I'm not really looking for beaches as such, but being able to see the areas as they really are away from the tourist port. I hope we are able to get some good local guides that can take us away from port and show us the real place.

[newmexicoNita]

I am wanting to finalize my reservations for a cruise in March 2009, but would feel better if I had some feedback from people that have been to the ports that are on the agenda. I am not concerned with the ship, since it is going to be in drydock this fall, so it will be in good condiition. The ports that the ship is scheduled to visit are Santo Tomas de Castilla, Belize City, Costa Maya and Cozumel. We are not scuba divers, I am the only one that would snorkel, and even that would be minimal. We all enjoy the beach, but would not be upset if we didn't really step foot on them. We are more interested in being somewhere that is totally different than the environment we live in daily. When I read descriptions about these ports, some of the review state (or boast) that they can handle up to 16 ships each day. That sounds more like a zoo than a vacation getaway. Can anyone tell me whether they felt that these ports were really conjested, or did you feel like it was pretty spacious.

We have not been to Costa Maya, but they are just re-opening in November, so not many ships will be returning for awhile: Guatamala, isn't a heavy cruise port, no problem there: Belize, you will tender in, we have done the port twice and I don't think either time there was more than one other ship in port. Cozumel can be a small zoo, the good news, there is so much to see and do you shouldn't have a problem. Do remember, March is spring break with more ships and they are more crowded. It doesn't make any difference which ports or what line you choose.

 

Nita

[Scoop_MSU]

There is a site (http://www.porttime.com) that will show which ships are in ports on specific days. Simply choose your port and then check the appropriate day that you will be there. We're going in April on the same itinerary.

[klct39lg]

Hi,

We were on the Spirit last March (9th-16th) for spring break and there were lots of college students on our sailing. The CD did a pretty good job of keeping them occupied, but they were still pretty rowdy in the wee hours. They settled down somewhat as the week went on. They did make the karaoke and belly flop contests enjoyable, though.:D Here's the belly flop contest.

 

 

We did the Bannister Island beach break excursion at Belize; it was lovely and relaxing. We returned to the ship then a couple of us went to Belize City for some shopping. Bannister Island.

 

 

We shopped in Cozumel, this is where the college spring breakers went overboard with drinking. It didn't seem too crowded until we headed back to board the ship, but the line moved quickly.

 

 

 

In Santo Tomas de Castilla, we visited the shopping area, I do wish that we had an excursion scheduled instead.

The shopping area was just to the right of this container area. Nothing to do if you don't plan an excursion.

[Toyz711]

cozumel has a problem with drinking, even when it's NOT spring break...we got back to the ship and watched the drunks swaying up to the gangway. you could hear them singing, before you saw them come around the docks/ship. funny as heck to watch:D . except for the one that made us late leaving, security wasn't too happy with that couple. we went to nachi cocom...a AI resort that limits the people per day. no crowds there!!

in belize we did the NCL tour to lamanai and the river safari..45min bus ride to the boats, an hour boat ride (with stops for wildlife viewing) to the ruins..about 2 hours at the site, then repeat the bus/boat. we were on the 1st tender and got back in time for the last tender. it was a all-day excursion...but the ruins are great. to us, it was right up there as the best tour EVER (next to Ephesus). the tour was through NCL, the tour guide (jewell) was outstanding.

santo tomas we did the 1/2 day tour to quirigua...another, but different, mayan site. if someone is interested in mayan history...this site is excellent. but it's not ruins, it's carved stelleas.

we had no crowds at lamanai, only 2 tours there...as the one had lunch, we did the ruins...as we ate, they did the ruins. since we had 23 people in our tour, that's all the people we had to deal with all day.

santo tomas, we didn't make it to the building with shops/entertainers/food/tours. as we sat in our cabin, with the balcony door open...we started to hear car horns honking and music...at that moment i remember what people on CC told me...that the locals (mostly people who work aournd the shops/docks) do a send-a-way. drums, local dancing..lots of noise. we had a port side balcony and could watch the whole thing.

The "mask" temple at lamanai

 

 

a howler monkey, no we didn't get this good of a view, they stay in the trees. when i was working with my photos, i found that when i blew-up this photo, there he was:

 

the stelleas at quirigua..very, very tall..many carving and mayan writings:

 

local vendor at quirigua

 

 

the "tourist" area at the docks of santo tomas

 

 

between belize and santo tomas, we saw monkeys, iguanas, crocodiles, many birds, tiny owl and even small bats.

[twinkle toes]

Your pictures have sold me on choosing this cruise!! I have a few questions though.

 

1) My parents are going to come with us, they are 78 and 80. Both are in good health, no walkers, canes, etc. You mentioned the walk on one of the tours you took. Was it a one and a half mile trek to get where you were going, or you walked a total of one and a half miles "around" the ruins. Do you think, after being there, that it would be too much for them?

 

2) Am I asking it choosing the 22nd of March, with it being Spring Break? Will the boat be rocking like carnival?

 

3) Did you go to Roatan because of weather? That isn't on the itinerary now.

 

4) You showed a picture of the balcony in your cabin. What is the size of the balcony? Was it a tight fit if you and your husband both wanted to sit out there at the same time?

 

Thanks in advance for any answers you can give me.

 

Sue

[Toyz711]

Your pictures have sold me on choosing this cruise!! I have a few questions though.

 

1) My parents are going to come with us, they are 78 and 80. Both are in good health, no walkers, canes, etc. You mentioned the walk on one of the tours you took. Was it a one and a half mile trek to get where you were going, or you walked a total of one and a half miles "around" the ruins. Do you think, after being there, that it would be too much for them? the walk around lamanai can be tough...stepping over roots, slippery rocks, etc. the walk is not fast, but can be rough. we had people that age, with knee replacement...he did better then some others. BUT we had a kid with us, he was with the guide..but i don't know if he was there officially. he was great, stayed with the slower group, helped people climb the one site ruin, that allows climbing. remember, it's hot...and a jungle (humid).

 

2) Am I asking it choosing the 22nd of March, with it being Spring Break? Will the boat be rocking like carnival? haven't been on the spirit during spring break..i am sure there will be more kids. how bad it will be is to be seen.

 

3) Did you go to Roatan because of weather? That isn't on the itinerary now. when costa mayan was destroyed...flatten..by the hurricane during the summer of '07. roatan was the replacement for the winter cruise season.now that costa maya says they are going to be ready for this season, costa maya is back on the route.

 

4) You showed a picture of the balcony in your cabin. What is the size of the balcony? Was it a tight fit if you and your husband both wanted to sit out there at the same time? we could sit out, if i could get his feet off my chair:eek: . it's just big enough for 2 people to sit and enjoy the 2 chairs.

 

Thanks in advance for any answers you can give me.

 

Sue

 

this is the start of the path around the ruins..you can see that it's uneven, rocky and (when we were there) muddy and slippery.

 

 

had to walk these steps to get to the Mask temple

 

 

[Toyz711]

should say that lamanai does have a restroom, some vendors and a covered area where lunch is served. if someone really found that they could not go the whole route, they can find their way back to this area. there is only one path, very hard to get lost. but it is kept in a fairly "natural" state.

quirigua..the place with the tall carvings, you have a flat grassy arean to walk. they have benches in the shade. it gets very hot, since the stelleas are not near shade...there were people there pushing baby strollers and wheelchairs.

lamanai has a 45 bus ride..can get bumpy...the boat ride is long and GREAT!! when not wildlife watching the boats go very fast..zoom, zoom, zoom. on the way back, to make up time...the boat ride is VERY fast.

[ASLinterpreter]

Hey guys! We'll be on the Spirit April 5. We originally were booked for April 12. I made a mistake about our kids schedule. When I called to change to one week earlier, I was told the price went up because it's spring break. So does spring break run from March through Arpil:rolleyes: ? We were on the Majesty 2 yrs. ago during spring break. LOTS of college kids. I thought by the way the were partying all night they would sleep in - no way!! But they did quite down towards the end of the week.

[Scoop_MSU]

Believe spring breaks vary some by area of the country. We are on the 4/5 trip also (roll call has already started if you want to get on there). We've been booked a long time (back when fuel supplement was only $7 a day, if that gives you an idea) but keep looking, especially during "sales" to see if we can improve. As of yesterday, the trip on 4/12 was considerably higher than the 4/5 one soooo, they must be planning on having more people starting on Easter and the week after than the one before. See you in the Big Easy!

[H2Olvrs]

Our family has booked our spring break vacation on this date/ship. Expecting to see many teens and college students. We've done spring break week in the past and found the cruise to be enjoyable - the flight home a different story though. Mostly, the teens/young adults will find their "own space" creating a natural break from parents.;) We also found that the adults had dinner and went to the shows alone - the teens/students ate in groups and attended the shows. We're using this as our send off to our high school senior :D

[ASLinterpreter]

Same with us. Our daughter has done very well with her high school career. We thought it would be a nice treat. We're bringing her best friend along, too. It's a good enough reason to cruise again,;) !